Marilyn Siemon-Burgeson, Chair
Barbara Holland-V.P
SCHOLARSHIP TO HEAVEN

This article is written in recognition, praise, and love of an outstanding member
who has given years of her life to enhance the goal of implementing monetary
aid to deserving students. December 19 th , Hazel Harken slipped from this earth
to the Arms of her God whom she had faithfully served her entire life. We, on
the Scholarship Committee, will miss her calm presence, her dedication, and
her love for the students who were gifted with the College Women’s Club
Scholarships.
It was Hazel who developed and perfected the grading system we use to
determine our scholarship recipients, and I, for one, spent many hours at her
dining room table with pen, paper, and hand-held calculators trying to
accurately place figures on a grid to determine winners each year... until
computers reduced the job from hours to seconds.
Hazel was a wife, mother, missionary, world traveler, friend, and a wonderful
human being. She created homes for her family in Brazil, China, and finally, in
retirement, very close-by here in Duarte. We cannot replace her but we can
honor her memory, and there is no other way than to be happy for her and to
say,

THANK YOU HAZEL, REST IN PEACE, WE MISS YOU!

On a very personal note, recognition of Hazel with a donation in her name to
the Scholarship Fund would be appropriate and appreciated.

Funeral Tribute for Hazel Harken
From Michael Cassidy, Founder of African Enterprise
So many of us in African Enterprise have come over the years to know Hazel Harken as an
amazing woman of God. And as she has gone to Heaven at age 99, even as we mourn her loss,
it is also difficult to feel grief-stricken in the knowledge that she had an astonishingly full life and
is now at peace and full of joy with her Savior and Lord.
Of course, my wife Carol and I and all in AE South Africa and in the AE Partnership around the
world, do join me in sending our deepest sympathies and love to Hazel’s whole family. They will
miss her sorely but will also be full of celebration for a life most wonderfully lived. She had a deep
love for Christ, an unshakable confidence in the Bible, and an astonishing commitment to prayer
for many people, not least all of us in African Enterprise. The way she met with Malcolm Graham
regularly and faithfully to pray for AE is something which has touched us all deeply. We probably
hardly ever had a truer and more devoted prayer partner. In this she will be most sorely missed.
Naturally we also rejoice in the fact that she has now entered into those inexpressible glories to
which the Apostle Paul refers when he says: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has there
entered the heart of man the things God has prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
That is the destiny that also awaits each one of us as believers and it will be our joy one day to
be reunited with Hazel in Heaven. I have no doubt that that would be her joy as well.
God bless you all.
With much love and sympathy in Christ,
Michael and Carol Cassidy, and all in AE worldwide.

For Hazel Harken’s Memorial Service
By Rev. Dr. Cynthia Reyes Fillmore
January, 2018
In 1995 I was called to my first pastoral position at First Presbyterian Church in Monrovia,
CA. This congregation will always hold a special place in my heart for the way they embraced
me and my husband, Kent – two strangers who moved from Northern California, complete with
a motorcycle.
One of the wonderful things about the congregation at that time was that there were a number
of retired missionaries who had served in many parts of the world, including the Christie’s, the
Guyer’s, and of course, Charles and Hazel Harken.
Soon after my arrival at that church Hazel came up to me and said that the Lord told her to pray
for me every day. I was so moved and honored to have this quiet but amazing woman of God
commit to praying for me. Even after I left that church and went on to other positions, she
remained faithful to pray. So many times over the years, I asked her to pray for specific
situations and circumstances in my personal life and in my churches.
During the 10 years that we lived in Southern California, I would often go to her home so that we
could pray together. She made sure that Kent and I had a place to come and enjoy a meal on
holidays. She also made the most fantastic chocolate chip cookies that Kent said he has ever
tasted. We once paid $50.00 for a plate of Hazel’s cookies at a church fund-raiser. Every
chocolate chip cookie that Kent tastes is held up to the highest standard: how does it compare
to Hazel’s? Nothing has ever come close. Why? Kent and I concluded long ago that even
though she said there was nothing special about her recipe, her cookies were baked with love
and prayer for the people that would r receive them.
She told me the story of her call to the mission field, when she first heard a sermon based on
the Great Commission, where Jesus said, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all
people.” She told me that the word “Go” just rang in her ears and her heart. She knew that she
had to answer that call. Even throughout her “retirement” years, she continued to answer God’s
calls to serve and love and pray for people. For example, I think of how for years she held a
gathering for widows at her home in Westminster Gardens, “Tea and Scones” it was
called. And she faithfully provided the tea, scones, companionship, and prayer for her “flock”
because she was a true shepherd in the service to the Good Shepherd.
There were so many ways that she blessed all of us that were privileged to call her a friend! She
was a spiritual mother to me – providing love and support and an example of a godly woman,
faithful to continue serving the Lord no matter what the circumstances of her own life.
In spite of the sadness that we feel at her death, we can rejoice knowing that she has heard
these words from her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ: “‘Well done, good and faithful
servant...Enter into the joy of your lord.’”

This is a place for visitors to submit condolence or sympathy messages. Please share your memories, thoughts, and feelings with Hazel's friends and family members.